


The Quiet

by SimplyKorra



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Post-Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-13
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-06 11:26:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5415014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyKorra/pseuds/SimplyKorra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Immediately following the fall of Kuvira, Korra and Asami find one another in the calm after the storm. They're both in need of comfort and realize the only person they wish to be with is one another. What it means for their relationship beyond this night is as unknown as it is inevitable.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. After The Fight

**Author's Note:**

> As of right now, this is nothing more than a way for me to write Korra and Asami post finale. It has no real plot, it's may never. But it's just the two of them after the fight and a way for me to write more Korrasami. I'd love to add to it, but I can't say it will be anything more than my take on the transition of their friendship to their romantic relationship. 
> 
> Just an excuse for me to write more of my girls <3

Korra winced against the sting in her arm as she pulled the band slowly off her elbow. There were bruises that would need healing, a break in one of her ribs that could be mended. She was tired and hungry, but the latter could wait till morning. For now, she needed sleep. Long after putting Kuvira down and pulling her out of the spirit world, she was still awake. Still dealing with the fallout and struggling to put the pieces of the world around her back together.

The damage to Republic City could be fixed. Everything could and would be fixed, as it always was. So long as the Avatar walked along this world, the structure broken by those who threatened it would be fixed. By her, by those around her, by those who had come before and would come after. Good would prevail and someday this would no longer be her fight. For now, however, it was, and she had won.

If anything, she had earned a good night’s rest.

When she finally found her room on the island, which was crowded with so many people who needed a place to lay their head for the night and recover, Korra thought she might not make it to bed. She opened up her vet before the door was even closed and let her shirt fall open. With a wince, she placed her hand over the most tender spot on her stomach and nodded to herself. That was the broken rib, she would have to heal it herself. It wouldn’t be safe to sleep on it and her mother had told her to take care of herself when Korra had called to tell them she was okay.

Leaning against the door, it shut with her weight and there was a sudden rustle on the bed.

“Oh!” The light flipped on and Korra jumped for a moment only to see Asami sitting up, hair a mess, on her bed. “Korra, I’m sorry I—I just needed a bed.”

“No,” Korra waved her off. “It’s okay, of course. I wasn’t even sure I’d have time to make it back here tonight.” She tilted her head at the way Asami was looking at her. Her eyes wide and darting only quick glances at her until she finally gave up and looked away completely.

That was when Korra glanced down and realized her shirt was open. She felt the heat rise up her neck and quickly closed her vest together.

“Do you, uh, do you want me to leave?”

“No,” Korra answered far too quickly as she stood in the doorway holding her shirt closed. The pain from her injury started to pulse a little and Korra couldn’t help but release the left side of her vest and grimace. “I just…need to wash up, I—“

“You’re hurt.” Asami said, moving off the bed. The lower part of her nightgown rode up and exposed her legs as she climbed out. It was Korra’s turn to look away.

She hoped her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. “It’s not that bad.”

“Korra,” Asami breathed before reaching out to Korra’s bruised arms, only to stop herself before touching them. When Korra looked at Asami again she had tears in her eyes. The sight alone made Korra nearly follow suit. It had been such a long day and there were times Korra thought she was going to die, thought those she loved were dead. To sit down on the floor and cry seemed like a pretty grand idea. However, she couldn’t, not yet. She had wounds to tend to and sleep to catch up on. A city to fix and a government to put back together. There was no time. There was never enough time. “You need to take care of those, Korra.”

She met Asami’s eyes again and felt her throat go dry when Asami reached out and grabbed her vest, pulling it aside to study the welt on her ribs. Seeing Asami grimace at her injuries was a strange feeling. In a way, it brought her a wealth of comfort. To see someone care, to see Asami care for her was soothing.

Korra couldn’t help but wonder when Asami’s comfort became the only comfort she ever wanted.

“I was just going to heal them.” She said and seemingly broke Asami from whatever trance she was in.

“I can go,” Asami said as she took a step back. “Really, I’m sure I’ll find another bed.”

“Asami,” Korra smiled. “It’s okay. I want you to stay. Please?”

She saw Asami swallow thickly. “You do?”

Korra nodded. “Yes. After today I just…” she let out a heavy sigh and lowered her head. “It’d be nice not to be alone.”

When she looked back up, Asami was nodding and suddenly the welling tears in her eyes had spilled over. That was when it all came back to Korra. She’d barely had time to register the news when Tenzin had told her about Hiroshi. The sadness for Asami hit her but a moment later someone else needed healing, something else needed moved and another bit of chaos swept her away.

Asami had lost her father today.

Despite his absence for the last few years of her life, Asami was truly alone today, more so than she had ever been.

“Asami,” Korra whispered before closing the distance and hesitantly touching her friend’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry.”

Black hair sashayed from side to side as Asami brushed at her eyes. “It’s not your fault.”

Sense told Korra to hug her, but instinct drew her hands to Asami’s hair and she rose up on her toes to kiss her forehead. Her lips lingered, as if she wanted to pour all of her comfort and support into this one gesture. Asami’s hands wrapped around her wrists, holding them in place. When she finally pulled away, Asami sank into her embrace and Korra gently cupped the back of her head.

The tears weren’t heavy; it was too late in the night for that. They were both tired and beaten down by the fight in one way or another. Korra cried a little as well—enough to make her vision blurry and her smile watery.

When they separated, she winced again without thinking and Asami frowned. “You need to—“

“I know,” Korra wiped at her eyes. “You’re worse than my mom.” This made Asami smile and Korra cited it as a victory. “Do you mind if I do it here? I don’t want to wake up anyone else.”

Asami shook her head. “It is your room, Korra.” She grinned weakly before sitting down on the bed. “Besides I—I don’t want to be alone either.”

Without another word, Korra slipped out of the bedroom and snuck into the kitchen for a bowl. She filled it with water, taking note of the countless people asleep on piles of blankets in Tenzin’s dining room and kitchen, before slipping back to her room.

She wasn’t surprised that Asami was still awake. She was surprised however to see Asami sitting on the edge of the bed with a towel in her hand.

“What’s that for?” Korra asked as she sat the bowl down on a stool before carefully slipping out of her vest. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Asami look away again with wide eyes—her fists wringing the towel in her hands.

“You uh…you’re a little dirty. Didn’t want you messing up Pema’s sheets.” Asami had a hint of teasing in her voice, but Korra had felt dirty all night, she knew it couldn’t look any better.

She glanced over at Asami who had finally found her eyes again. “You going to clean me up?”

Asami chewed on her bottom lip. “May I?” The way she said it, the raspy tone of her voice settled into Korra’s throat and rendered her speechless. Instead she nodded and watched Asami dip her cloth into the water before it was suddenly pressed against her open palm resting in Asami’s own.

The feelings Korra had for Asami were nothing new. They’d been there for years now. At times buried in the deepest part of her mind and others they were desperate to escape from her throat in an agonizing scream. She’d fallen in love with her best friend and Korra had no idea how to approach such a thing—no idea if Asami could ever feel the same way or if it was even okay to bring it up.

Yet, as she watched Asami run the warm cloth up her forearm and carefully wash away the stains of battle from her skin, she felt a part of herself open up to the idea that maybe she _could_ have something with Asami. Something more than she ever could have imagined.

“Those bruises aren’t going to heal on their own.” Asami said and Korra blinked at her a couple of times, still without words. “Do your thing so I can wet my towel down again.”

Refocusing, Korra pulled the water from the bowl and tilted her head back. Every part of her was stiff and sore so she started on her neck, just letting the water rest there and pulse with the healing energy. It was almost instantaneous and it took everything she had not to let out a satisfied sound at the feeling. For hours she had ached with every step she took and now that pain was melting away.

As she moved to her ribs, she slowed, this would not be comfort, but it was necessary. The bone was broken. She knew enough to know it would heal on it’s own but she had to give it time. No more fighting dictators for at least a week.

It hurt worse than expected and Korra nearly doubled over in pain but before she could a gentle touched her shoulder and held her steady.

“You okay?” Asami asked and the water stilled.

Korra took a few deep breaths and replaced the water in the bowl. “Yeah,” she said with a nod to confirm. “It’s just tender. I—I think it’s broken.”

Asami stared at her miserably. “What should we do?”

“Don’t worry,” Korra said with a reassuring smile. “It’ll be okay. It just needs time.”

“Do you think that will be enough?” Asami’s question was clear enough, but what captured Korra’s attention was the realization that somewhere along the way their hands had laced together.

With a renewed smile, Korra squeezed her hand and nodded. “Definitely.” She watched Asami blink slowly. “We should sleep.” Korra slid up onto the bed and pulled Asami up with her. “Is this…okay?” She asked before fully laying down.

Instead of an answer, Asami’s head found the pillows first and she drew Korra down with her.

\-------------------

When the morning came, Asami was woken by the consistent push of air against her face. Opening her eyes, she was met with Korra’s face no more than an inch in front of her. Their noses were nearly touching and it was from Korra’s nose that the air was hitting her with each breath the Avatar took.

Asami couldn’t help but smile, Korra always looked so peaceful when she slept. Asami could remember studying her after her fight with the Red Lotus—those long nights spent at her bedside in case Korra needed anything.

That was when Asami first realized she cared too much about Korra—more so than was probably necessary for a ‘friend’. One night she’d opted to stay home after Korra’s fight, she didn’t sleep at all because, even with distance, she couldn’t stop worrying about this girl that had suddenly consumed her life.

Everything was different now, time had passed and another battle had been won. This time though, Korra wasn’t hurt, not like before. Instead she was here, curled up beside her and Asami could feel Korra’s hand resting on her hip.

It wasn’t the first time Asami had the urge to kiss her best friend. Though she could say with great certainty that this was the strongest. Korra was right there, no more than a few inches from her. She wouldn’t, of course—how silly would it be to kiss her while she was sleeping. Silly and creepy and not at all the way she wanted to profess her feelings. In time she would, perhaps after things calmed down and both of them had dealt with the fallout of their battle yesterday.

Asami felt the ache in her chest ignite and she sighed heavily. Her father had died yesterday. She watched the hummingbird mech he forced her out of be crushed with him still inside. It had been enough—that’s what Asami told herself over and over again. That his actions had been enough to help them stop Kuvira and saved the lives of the city he once threatened to tear apart. He had redeemed himself—done right where he had once wronged so many. To most, it would seem like the perfect ending to a man who was destined to a life in prison.

However, for Asami, she was just a girl who had now lost both of her parents before she was barely into her twenties. More so, she’d watched them both be murdered right in front of her. Suddenly the weight of it all hit her and she choked out a sob that snuck through. It was unexpected and Asami covered her mouth but couldn’t hold back the tears that started to fall.

As she tried to move away from Korra, her body was stilled by a pair of hands sliding up her arms and holding her in place. When she looked again, Korra was watching with compassion in her sleepy eyes.

“Hi,” Korra said and Asami stopped fighting and rolled into Korra’s embrace.

She cried and cried—when the tears felt like they might stop, more somehow came. It was better this way and she knew it. There was no reason to hold her pain in anymore. The fight was over and Asami wasn’t sure how often she’d have the chance to lie here, with Korra and free of pending doom. Now was the time to grieve; they couldn’t hide in this room forever and wait for her to be ready.

Korra never faltered, holding her and soothing her with each wave. At some point Asami fell asleep again to the feeling of Korra’s breath against her hair and strong hands rolling across her back. When she woke again the light in the room was brighter, the day had forged ahead as it always did and Korra was still there with her.

She shifted a bit and was met with a pair of blue eyes and a gentle smile staring back at her.

“You’re awake.” Korra whispered.

Asami swallowed the lump in her throat. “You didn’t have to stay.”

The Avatar’s smile grew. “I know.” Asami felt her breath hitch when Korra traced a thumb under her eye. “Ikki tried to come in, I might have airbent the door in her face. I hope I didn’t hurt her.”

“Korra,” Asami chided weakly. Quietly glad for the respite—the more she thought about it, the more she didn’t want to leave this room. “Thank you.”

“It’s not—“

“No,” Asami quickly silenced her. “It means a lot. All of this, after everything you went through yesterday—you’re here for me. I’m glad you’re here.”

There was no response from Korra, at least not verbally. Instead she just laid there next to Asami, the silence between them deafening as Korra absentmindedly ran her hand up and down Asami’s arm.

“Asami I—“ there was a sudden rapping on the door and Korra’s hand pulled away from Asami’s skin in a flash. She rolled over onto her back, her ribs clearly acting up as she grimaced before sitting up. “Who is it?”

“It is Tenzin.” Korra gave Asami an apologetic look before moving to the door. When it opened Asami sat up a bit to watch. Tenzin was fully dressed and looked as if the entirety of yesterday had never happened and it was just business as usual. “I was just checking to make sure you were okay, it is well past morning and despite your disdain for mornings I—oh.” His gaze flittered past Korra and found Asami still in bed. “I uh…I—wasn’t…Ms. Sato, you’re… _here_.”

Asami smiled tightly. “Yes, good morning, Tenzin.”

“It’s past morning,” Tenzin muttered before refocusing on Korra. He seemed so out of sorts, clearly not expecting to find Asami in the Avatar’s bed. “I was—“ Tenzin cleared his throat and straightened his posture. “I came to inform you that President Raiko has requested your presence to discuss a few matters on what to do with the people who have been left homeless. He wishes to include you in the discussions.”

She could see Korra raise her brow. “Really? He _wishes_ to include me?”

“Yes,” Tenzin nodded. “You did save the entire city yesterday, and also created a massive portal right in the middle of it.”

Korra frowned. “So he wants to yell at me?” Tenzin did not immediately respond. “If I punch him would I be—“

“Thrown in jail? Yes.”

“I could fight the police though.” Again he didn’t respond, just stared at her. Asami had to fight back a chuckle. “Fine, I’ll _chat_ with Raiko.”

Tenzin seemed satisfied. “Excellent, also I—I suppose I can deliver the message as well, he wishes for your presence in unison with Korra, Ms. Sato. I’m certain to begin discussions of the city’s repair.”

The very thought of Future Industries and any work unsettled Asami. Immediately bringing her mind to her father.

"Okay, thank you Tenzin." she said even though she was far from okay about any of it. Her voice nearly betrayed her but she put on a smile and sat up just as Korra regained Tenzin’s focus.

“Can we have a bit to get up?” Korra asked as the uncertainty returned to Tenzin’s face.

“Is that…something you need to do together?”

Korra crossed her arms with annoyance. “We’ll be out in a bit.”

Tenzin sighed. “Very well, please do not dally, we have another busy day.”

With a meager wave of her hand, Korra shut the door as he left and leaned against it. “Do you think we’ll ever have time to rest?”

“Probably not, unless we _make_ time.”

“Well,” Korra started as she moved back to the bed and sat down. “Then after we get all this sorted out I think we should make some time. Get away from all these crazy people.”

Asami closed her eyes and laid her head against the wall. "Time away sounds lovely." Asami couldn’t help but wonder why being around Korra like this made her feel so content. The next few days were going to be so hard—but Korra was here, and knowing that, Asami knew she would be okay.


	2. Just Friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I won't lie, I don't know if my Grandma Yin is any good lol. Thank you all for the wonderful response. 
> 
> Also this fic is unbeta'd so...yeah.

Try as she might to justify that there was genuinely something wrong, Asami had no real reason for taking apart the engine in her Satomobile other than the fact that she needed to do something with her hands.

The last two days had been agonizing, to say the least. Between meetings with Raiko, Varrick and the rest of Republic City’s leaders, along with the pain of trying to figure out where to bury her father, Asami was ready to shut off the world.

Which led her here, to the garage at the Sato mansion. She hadn’t been here in months, not after she let Mako and Bolin’s family stay. They were still around, taking up every inch of the mansion and Asami was fine with that, she had no intentions of spending a night here, but the garage was still hers and being covered in grease and dirt was exactly what she needed.

Dropping a wrench, Asami straightened her back and listened as it cracked in a few places. She’d been out here for hours, listening to the sound of a nearby fountain and the occasional loud voice of one of the boys staying inside. None of them had found their way to where she was working yet and Asami hoped they wouldn’t. She was frustrated and exhausted—more so than that, she was having a hard time dealing with all her cluttered emotions.

Burying her father was one thing, and that alone was painful, but what made it worse was Korra.

In this case, the _lack_ of Korra.

She hadn’t seen Korra since their meeting with Raiko two days ago. Tenzin had told her yesterday that Korra was traveling throughout the city in an attempt to make sure that everyone who had lost things during the fight was being properly taken care of. Asami expected no less from Korra, but she could only imagine how hard the Avatar had to have been working.

A part of her wanted to get in this Satomobile (once she put the engine back together), go find Korra and make her lay down and rest.

If Asami happened to curl up next to her and fall asleep as well, so be it.

At this point, Asami could no longer deny that she was in love with her best friend and two days ago she was almost certain Korra had felt the same way. Now however, the doubt started to creep in, simply because Korra hadn’t sought her out at all.

 _She’s busy_ , Asami would tell herself. _She has so much to deal with, she can’t put aside the rest of the world for you_.

Of course she couldn’t, Asami knew that. Still, that didn’t make her miss Korra any less.

As her mind wandered, Asami’s eyes fell to a tiny red stool stuck away in the far corner of the garage. The wave of sadness that washed over her at the sight of this stool was overwhelming.

Her legs buckled and she nearly fell over if not for finding a grip on the hood of her Satomobile. It was such a simple thing, a small stool to sit on with wheels to move around, but for Asami, it was a like going back in time.

She could remember sitting on that very stool as her father told her everything he knew about his machines, his life’s work. She would watch in awe as he rolled her around to talk about every little thing. He never pushed her into learning about building as he did, but those days spent here, on that stool with her father, were as instrumental as anything in making her the woman she was now.

Steadying herself, Asami walked over to where the stool was resting in the corner and pulled it out into the middle of the garage. She parked it right in front of her Satomobile, the one she’d built with her own two hands and had fixed more times than she could count, and sat down.

The tears came slowly and she welcomed them, in a way they felt therapeutic. So much of her life was different now from those days when her dad was in this place with her. Both of her parents were gone, she ran the company he built and put back together the city he loved. Beyond that, she was no longer as alone as she had been. For all the money and high standing the Sato family had, finding real people to trust was hard and Asami had felt a certain loneliness her entire life.

She had never really known true friendship until she nearly ran over poor Mako and fell into all of this. A part of her wondered why she stayed after everything they’d been through. After Mako broke her heart, twice and through all the dangers that followed. When her father went to jail, Asami had moments of weakness where she thought about leaving it all behind. She easily could have, just boarded up Future Industries, taken the money she had and moved to the Earth Kingdom to fix machines.

But there was one thing that always kept her around.

That was Korra.

There would be no escaping Korra anymore. No way of moving on with her life without being certain that Korra was okay. After the fight with the Red Lotus and spending so much time being around Korra at her worst, to see her now, as strong and mature as she was, Asami had never been felt a pride and admiration like that.

All that was left was building the courage to actually _tell_ Korra how she felt—and no matter how certain she was that the feelings were mutual, taking that leap was terrifying.

As Asami prepared to finish up her work on the engine, a gust of wind rolled in from the outside and she turned quickly to see a figure gliding down towards her.

With all the grace of a cat owl, Korra cascaded to the ground and landed gently as her glider folded up.

She looked as amazing as Asami could ever picture her. It was one thing Asami had never denied, even when she was with Mako, that Korra was so…striking. From her gentle features and strong jaw, to the wonderful construction of her body, Asami had many a daydream about the Avatar.

However, it wasn’t until Korra stepped into the garage and out of the sunlight that she saw her favorite feature—Korra’s smile.

“Hey you,” Korra said as she leaned her glider against the wall. “Thought I might find you here.”

Asami’s brow ticked up. “Did you?”

Korra shrugged. “Well okay, maybe I went to your work and the main reconstruction site first, but I knew I’d find you eventually.”

“Truth is I should probably be at either one of those places instead of here but—“ Asami’s words trailed off as Korra pulled up the small stool and sat down. “I uh—what—any particular reason you’re seeking me out?”

“No,” Korra frowned a little and Asami knew her question didn’t come out right. “I just hadn’t seen you in a few days and I missed you.”

_Oh goodness, she’s trying to end me, isn’t she?_

Asami couldn’t contain the smile that fell across her face. “Missing your friends after all that traveling with world leaders?”

Korra seemed suddenly bashful and Asami noticed the gentle tint of her cheeks. It was gone a moment later when she shook her head and let her smile return. “Nah, just you. I worry about you; you know? I mean look at you. You’re filthy.”

“Am I?” Asami returned in a playful tone. “Well I’ve been working and it’s hot in here so I’ve been sweating. We can’t all look good when we’re hot and sweaty.”

“Yeah right, you always look good. I’m the one who has to change clothes twice a day during the summer because I sweat so much. I miss the Water Tribe winters.” Korra continued to smirk at her. “But yeah, you’re covered in grease. The beautiful Asami Sato now nothing more than a greased hog-monkey. If the papers could see you now.”

Asami could see Korra was quite pleased with herself and couldn’t resist the opportunity. Her stomach was in knots but at the same time she couldn’t stop herself. “Oh I know why you’re here. You missed me so much that you wanted a hug. A nice, big, greased hog-monkey hug.” When she took a step towards her, Korra stood up.

“Don’t,” Korra warned, rising up quickly from the stool. “Asami, I mean it.”

“I can see through you Korra, I know you too well. You need a hug.” She held her hands outstretched and took another step.

“Asami, don’t make me go into Avatar State on you.”

Asami laughed heartily. “I think your Avatar State would love a hug from her best friend too.”

The moment Korra rolled her eyes, Asami jumped in. She was faster than Korra was prepared for and suddenly she had her arms wrapped around Korra’s shoulders and had pressed their bodies together.

Perhaps Asami had expected Korra to quickly move away, instead Korra didn’t move an inch and when Asami collided with her, they both toppled to the ground. Korra smacked the concrete sharply, letting out a soft groan and Asami immediately felt terrible.

“Korra I’m so—“ her words were cut off when she looked down at the girl beneath her and saw Korra staring right into her eyes. No signs of pain or anger, just a long, if somewhat confused, look being given to her.

As the breaths passed between them, Asami was suddenly very aware of Korra’s hand on her hip and the other lingering closely to her face. A heartbeat later, that same hand was dragging through her hair and gently tucking it behind her ear. Every nerve in her body felt like it was on fire, if there was ever a doubt of Korra’s feelings for her, it faded away with that gesture.

Still, she couldn’t find the courage to make her move and even as Korra touched her, she hadn’t taken that step either.

“You’re filthy.” Korra said breathlessly and Asami could only nod in return. Shifting her weight, Asami planted her hands on either side of Korra’s shoulders and held herself up.

_Do it, Asami. Kiss her. She’s right here. There will be no better moment than this one right now!_

Taking a breath, she prepared to lean in, to test the waters and see if Korra responded at all. It might ruin their friendship forever but Asami had seen too many people she loved taken too soon to risk not trying and never knowing. She just needed one moment, one kiss to be sure.

“Oh!” A high pitched voice broke through the intimacy and Korra jumped beneath her. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your sparring match out here. Though you could have done it inside in your fancy training room.”

They both turned to see Mako and Bolin’s grandmother standing at the entranceway of the garage.

“We weren’t—“

“It’s okay,” Asami cut Korra off and sat up with a resigned sigh. “Did you need something?”

“Oh I’m just having a walk. I ate something that hasn’t sit well with me and it’s better to be outside in that case.”

Asami could see Korra grimace out of the corner of her eye and had to fight not to laugh. “Ah, I understand.” Asami said and Korra reacted even more intensely. “Well I’m just about to put my Satomobile back together and go back into the city.”

“Oh! I love these fancy machines but I’ve never really seen too many up close. Would you mind if I stayed and watched?”

With a conceding nod, Asami looked to Korra who simply shrugged with a smile. “Of course you can.”

“Yeah,” Korra started as she rose to her feet. “I should probably get back to it.” Korra reached down and helped Asami to her feet as well, brushing off a bit of dirt from her shoulder in the process. “I actually did come here for a reason, I don’t know if you heard about Varrick and Zhu Li’s wedding.”

“I love weddings!” Grandma Yin said as she sat down on the stool.

Korra quickly rolled her eyes with a steady smile. “Anyway, I was wondering if…you’d…want to go with me? I mean I’ll need help picking out a dress anyways and the Avatar can’t be seen showing up alone. I could use a friend.”

_A friend._

Asami felt a knot forming in the pit of her stomach, but she wasn’t about to say no. “I would love to.”

“I have a whole pack of boys in the house that would be happy to take either one of you to a wedding!”

“A whole _pack_.” Asami mouthed silently at Korra, which made her grin even wider. “Thanks for the offer, Grandma Yin but I think I have my date already.” Asami said to the older woman before stepping back to her Satomobile.

“I understand, it’s probably more fun to go with your friends anyway. Less tension and pressure to look your best.” Asami glanced over her shoulder at Korra who gave a soft wave before taking off back into the sky.

 _No pressure._ Asami gripped her wrench much tighter than she had all day.

As Grandma Yin continued to go on and on about the ease of friendships, Asami knew one thing for certain.

She was going to bring her A game to this wedding.


	3. Heart on Her Sleeve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra was never good at keeping things from her mother.

Starting from her shoulders, Korra tightened the muscles and slowly let them relax. She repeated this process three times before moving to her upper arm muscles, then down to her forearms before flexing her core.

It was the simplest method she’d found for curing any anxiety, but for the most part, it worked with the easier attacks.

Being the Avatar was always stressful and only recently was that something Korra needed to manage. She could remember being scared during the fights with Amon and Unalaq when she was younger. At the time it worked to her advantage—it drove her to push harder.

That was until her fight with the Red Lotus, when her body pushed _too_ far and broke down. She couldn’t grit her teeth and continue to drive through every single wall put in front of her. She was only seventeen at the time and nearly lost her life, the ability to walk, the ability to take care of herself at all. From that moment on, Korra swore to never take her life for granted. The Avatar was important, but Korra was important too and she had to come first. Even when centuries of stories and history told her otherwise.

Yet, with that new weight of responsibility to her own health, came the mental and emotional blockades. She was plagued with nightmares and tormented by memories. For a while they consumed her, but eventually she managed to pull them in and carry them, as she had with all the pressure of her role in the world.

When it all felt like too much, Korra learned how to calm herself down and put everything into perspective. The first exercises she learned was flexing and relaxing her muscles, taking slow deep breaths and focusing on everything in front of her.

Right now, that was a small bathroom on Air Temple Island as she waited for her parent’s boat to arrive from the Southern Water Tribe.

Korra was nervous about seeing them, she was excited, but also very aware of the fact that she hadn’t seen them since she lied about where she was going and disappeared for a year. So much of that time was locked away. Nobody knew about the underground fighting, the nights she spent hungry or the crummy places she had slept. It was every day, living on her own and just trying to escape the torment in her mind. It was a part of her now and a part of the pain she had to endure to grow into the person she was now. She wouldn’t take it back if she could. She was proud of herself for overcoming it all.

Still, she was certain her parents had spent many nights worried about her and it made her feel guilty.

When Korra finally made her way back outside to wait for their arrival she was surprised to see the boat already pulling up to the dock. Tenzin’s kids were all there already, greeting her parents and hugging Kya. Tenzin was following up behind them and giving stern lectures to Meelo about jumping on people.

She smiled when her mother found her across the island. She saw Senna’s eyes go wide and a hand draw up to her mouth. A rush of emotion washed over Korra and suddenly her legs were carrying her quickly towards them.

Her father had come up behind her mom when Korra finally heard the wood of the dock against her boots.

“Sweetheart!” Senna cried and Korra engulfed her mom in a hug. “Oh!” Senna laughed. “Oh Korra, it’s so good to see you.”

Tears threatened in the corner of her eyes, she had no idea it would be like this. She’d been away from her parents before, when she moved to the city and any time she saw them after that was never this way. It never mattered as much as it did now.

“Your hair,” her father’s voice drew Korra’s head up over her mom’s shoulder. “It’s all gone.” He smiled and Korra pulled back to brush her eyes.

“Oh…yeah I—I cut it a while back.”

“I love it, Korra,” Senna said as she touched a strand and ran a finger through it. “It suits you and you’re so…you look wonderful Korra. Something is different about you.”

Stepping back, Korra nervously hugged herself and shrugged. “I grew into my body a little. Had to get bigger clothes.”

“Still no sleeves I see,” Tonraq teased before taking a step to her and pulling her in close.

Korra _sank_ into her father’s arms and exhaled in relief. The last time she’d hugged him like this, _really_ hugged him, was just before giving herself over to Zaheer.

_No Korra, don’t let him in right now. This isn’t about him. You beat him. Focus on your parents. They’re here now, what do you want to tell them first? Where do you want to take them? What do you want to show them?_

“Korra?” Tonraq called to her worriedly and she realized she had been holding onto him for a bit too long. She pulled away quickly and chuckled.

“Sorry, I just…missed you.” She turned back to her mom and put an arm over her shoulder. “Both of you.” The guilt struck her again as she heard Tenzin telling his kids to give them a moment. “I—I should have…I _shouldn’t_ have just left like that. Lied to you guys. I’m—“

“You don’t have to apologize, Korra.” Her father’s words surprised her. He offered her a convincing look that he really meant it. “Your mother and I worried, of course, but we’ve never doubted you could take care of yourself. The hardest part for us was admitting we didn’t know how to help you.”

Korra pursed her lips as she felt the tears coming back. “I never wanted to push you guys away. It wasn’t my intention I just…I was so lost.”

She could feel her mother’s grip on her hand and looked into her eyes for comfort. “You seem to be okay now? Your face is so bright, you look strong and…happy.”

“I am,” Korra squeezed her mother’s hand tight. “I still deal with some of what happened and…I think maybe I always will but…I know who I am now. What I’m supposed to do and where I belong. All I care about now is being the best Ava—person that I can be.”

Tonraq clasped her shoulder. “That and maybe coming to see your parents for the Winter Festival this year.”

“I wouldn’t miss it.” She hugged them both again.

\----------------

“Korra?” The soft voice pulled Korra from the comfort she had found herself in. A dreamlike state with a pair of arms wrapped around her. It was perfect, so comfortable and the smell in her nose was familiar and wonderful.

She wanted to ignore the interruption, to stay right where she was, but the voice called to her again and when her eyes opened, she saw her mom smiling down at her. “Korra, sweetheart, you can’t sleep here.”

“What?” She asked as she looked around to see that she’d fallen asleep at Tenzin’s dinner table. They had been catching up with her parents on everything that had happened, Tenzin’s family was here and Kya was telling stories, it was wonderful. So wrapped up in the peace and comfort of family, the exhaustion of the last few weeks caught up with her. “Oh I—I’m sorry. I’ve been running all over Republic City the last few days and haven’t had much sleep.”

Senna frowned. “Well your mother is here now so you’ll be getting plenty of sleep this evening.”

“Mom,” Korra started as she rose to her feet. “I have more work to do tomorrow. Raiko is—“

“Going to have to wait.” Senna cut her off sternly. “I mean it, Korra. You can’t run yourself into the ground. You have to take care of yourself first.”

Korra sighed but couldn’t deny that her mom was right. It was one of the lessons she’d learned when she was away. Her mental, emotional and physical well being came first. It had to. “I just hate that there are people out there still suffering from this. I want to fix it.”

“And you are, but you can’t do it if you can’t stand because you’re worn out. I’m certain there are other people who can do some of the work. From what Tenzin tells me, your friend Asami is putting her company to use in rebuilding and sheltering. You’re not the only one.”

“Asami is doing amazing work.” Korra blurted out, a smile shining across her face. “She always does great work. It sucks because we’ve both been so busy and I barely get to see her. We’re supposed to go dress shopping tomorrow.”

“Oh?” Senna seemed genuinely surprised. “You hate shopping.”

“I do but…Asami is really good at it and she makes it fun. Plus, like I said, it’ll give me a chance to spend time with her.” Korra felt the steady glance her mother was giving her. When she finally met her eyes, she could see Senna’s questioning expression. “What?”

“Nothing,” Senna smiled again, though not quite as much as she had before. “Does your old dress not fit anymore. You loved it.”

“It doesn’t, and I figure since I have a new haircut it might be good to have a new dress too. Asami has so many of them. A dress for every occasion and she looks amazing in all of them.”

_Will you stop gushing about Asami so much? Why don’t you climb onto the roof of Tenzin’s home and scream about how pretty she is?_

Korra cut herself off and shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t know.”

“Korra…is there something you want to tell me?” The question was more of a kindness than anything else. When Korra looked into her mother’s eyes, she knew that the secret had been found out.

Letting go of all the tension she was carrying, Korra put her head in her hands. “Mom, I’m in love with her.”

“Wow,” Senna said. “You really did change while you were gone.”

“Mom!” Korra cried as she ran her hands through her hair. The outburst only made her mother laugh more.

“Oh Korra, you know that your father and I both will support you, no matter what you do _or_ who you decide to love.” Though Korra had never doubted that, hearing the words made her feel better. “I guess the motherly thing for me to do now would be to ask…why this one?”

“Because she’s…my best friend but…I also get a little lost when I look at her and can’t focus when she’s around but at the same time it’s like…everything is a little worse when she’s gone. We had grown so close after I broke up with Mako and through everything that happened she was always there. It meant so much to me and then…I left and I was terrified that when I came back it wouldn’t be the same but it was even better. Like…every night I spent thinking about her and missing her mattered because she was thinking about me too.”

Senna’s smile had doubled when Korra found the courage to look at her again. “So you think she feels the same way?”

“I—I think she does…or at least I think I have hoped hard enough to convince myself that she does.”

“Hmm,” Senna crossed her arms Korra’s brows went up.

“What?”

“Oh nothing, I’m happy for you, honey, really. In fact, your father is going to be thrilled.”

Korra was even more confused. “Why? He wasn’t really a fan of Mako.”

“True, but you were younger then, he was just being protective. He’s been talking about asking Asami to help him modernize the Tribe a little bit. It should be easier now that she’s dating his daughter.”

Korra groaned. “We’re not dating! And he can’t ask for favors from my girlfriend.” The word stuck on her tongue and Korra couldn’t help but swoon inside at the way it sounded.

“Your girlfriend already?” Senna teased once more, throwing an arm over Korra’s shoulder. “You know what they say, don’t count your polar bear-dog eggs before they hatch.”

‘They don’t have eggs, Mom!”

Senna laughed warmly. “That’s exactly what you’d say when you were little." 

Korra had really missed her mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Korrasami in this one I know, but I wanted and needed more of Korra with her mom lol.


	4. Uncovered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra and Asami go dress shopping and Asami gets more than she bargained for.

Asami was never much for drinking—never liked the taste or the way it made her feel hours later. She could remember how her father used to drink after her mother passed.

She hated how it always seemed to come back to that—how her mother’s death continued to define _her_ life.

Still, she could remember when he would drink, but never in front of her. He would wait until she was asleep and Asami would wake up early in the morning to find some of the staff cleaning up empty bottles and putting him to bed. They would tell her he was up late working, which he might have been for a while, but she eventually figured out that he had developed a habit of drowning his pain.

To his credit, she could also remember when he stopped. Hiroshi Sato was a fighter, Asami could never deny him that. He fought with his drinking problem and beat it rather soundly. From the day she turned fourteen and he woke her up early to teach her how to drive, Asami never once saw him take another drink. She never knew what it was that pushed him to quit, but she was thankful for it.

From that point on they dealt with the loss of Yasuko together—or so she thought.

It was memories like that that had brought her to this point, a bottle of liquor in front of her with a small glass next to it. She felt foolish, she’d only ever drank at parties and even that was just samplings of a fancy bottle exported in by some rich tycoon from another kingdom. However, the decision of whether or not to use the plot Hiroshi had reserved next to his wife to be buried one day had driven Asami to at least take out the bottle.

She just couldn’t decide of her mother would still want that. If she would still love the person her father became.

Asami had forgiven him and he _had_ sacrificed himself to save the people she cared about and the city—but still he had done so many terrible things before that.

_Tap tap tap_

Asami nearly fell out of the seat in her study when she looked up at the window to see Korra waving with a smile on her face as she leaned on the sill.

“Korra,” Asami groaned while fighting off her own smile before racing over to let her in. “What are you doing?”

“I’m here to go shopping,” Korra said as she stepped inside. “Okay maybe I’m a _little_ early but I had to get away from all the politicians.”

“Should I expect to run into you like this all the time? Just flying in with your staff and a gust of wind.”

Korra puffed out her chest a bit. “It’s a pretty fantastic entrance, right?”

Asami rolled her eyes. “It is, not as much as watching Meelo cascade down from the sky after one of his own farts, but it’s right up there.”

“Oh Asami,” Korra feigned hurt. “How could you compare my arrival to a Meelo fart?”

“Well you both smell.” Asami teased and Korra gasped before swatting her on the arm. “I’m kidding of course! You only smell after you’ve been wrestling in the mud with Naga.”

Korra rolled her eyes but couldn’t hold her feigned anger for very long and soon enough she was looking at the bottle that Asami had left sitting on the table of her study. “You’re drinking? Grandma Yin would not be happy if she came up here and found that.”

“That’s why the door is locked, because Grandma Yin loves to wander into any room I’m in otherwise.” Asami saw Korra’s eyes shift between her and the bottle. “I’m not drinking, or at least…I haven’t—I wasn’t. I just…I don’t know.”

“Hey, you can—I mean…if you need to talk about something I’m here.” Korra seemed a bit hesitant to offer her support and Asami knew it was because she still carried some guilt over being gone for so long. Try as she might, Asami hadn’t been able to hold in the fact that Korra’s absence had been hard on her and ever since she returned, Korra had been much more sensitive to these sorts of things.

“I can’t decide where I should bury my father.” Asami said bluntly and Korra’s eyes went wide.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Asami sighed and moved back to the table to pick up the bottle. “I thought a drink might help me decide but I opened it up and the smell made me nauseous so I’ve just been sitting here not doing anything and…I’m no further now than I was ten minutes ago.”

Korra nodded slowly as she took the information in. Asami sat back down at the desk and watched as Korra put her hands behind her back and started to pace a little. “You said ‘where’ so does that mean you have options?”

“Well I have a plot for him, right next to my mother.” Korra frowned immediately. “It’s okay, Korra. You don’t have to make the face.”

“It’s not okay,” Korra returned and Asami was ready to argue. She’d seen enough sad looks at the mention of her mother. “I was going to ask you to have dinner with my parents and here you are talking about burying one of yours and I just—“

“Korra,” Asami cut her off. “Listen to me when I tell you it’s okay because it is. Yes, my father’s death is still very fresh and it hurts very much but…I can’t let their deaths define _me_. I have to move forward or I’ll end up right here. With a lot of pain, a lot of indecision and a bottle.” Asami laughed at how silly she felt now for having even brought out the alcohol in the first place. “I hate the fact that every time I talk about my mom it’s hushed tones and sympathetic expressions. Like the entirety of her life doesn’t mean anything, all she’s remembered for now is that she died. It’s the only thing I can ever talk to anyone about. Nobody cares to know who she was before that. That she was a singer and she loved to dance. Did you know that she taught my dad how to play Pai Sho?”

“No.”

Asami smiled. “She did, the basics at least, he’s the one who had to go and master it because that’s the way he was with stuff. Once he knew how to do something he wanted to be the best at it.”

“I know someone like that.” Korra teased gently and Asami couldn’t help but laugh.

"You know,” Asami tilted her head at Korra who was watching her intently. “She was the first person who told me about you.”

Korra’s eyes went wide with shock. “What?”

“Yep, your discovery was a big deal and you were in the newspaper and everything here in Republic City.”

Asami couldn’t help but adore the way Korra’s cheeks turned red. “I didn’t know that.” She said even though Asami could see it all falling together in her head. “I mean I know everyone figured out who I was pretty quick I just…didn’t know it mattered that much.”

“I barely remember much about that newspaper, just my mom telling me that you were found. I was really excited when she told me you were a girl. Can’t say I ever imagined I’d be as close with you as I am. Fighting alongside you and teasing you about your smell.”

Korra laughed softly. “Don’t sell yourself short. You help me so much. I couldn’t do this job without you.”

It sounded so foolish. “You could, Korra. You’re the Avatar, you—“

“No,” Korra cut her off and took a step around the desk that separated them. “I mean it, Asami. I am so lucky to have you in my life. I care so much about you I—I just…” Korra suddenly took a step back but stopped herself from turning away. In that moment a rush of courage hit Asami to make a move.

_Even if you just hug her you have to do something. After what she just told you you can’t leave her like this._

“I care about you too, Korra. You’re my—“ _Don’t you dare say best friend._ Asami sighed and looked away. “You’re very special to me.”

Asami hated how it sounded. So wordy and evasive. She wanted to tell her that she loved her, the meaning behind it didn’t matter Asami would never deny she loved Korra in some way. Yet the words stuck in her throat and even when Korra returned the words they felt unsatisfying.

“You’re special to me too.”

After a beat of silence between them, Korra pushed forward and Asami was so thankful for it. “You ready to go dress shopping?”

“Absolutely.”

\-----------------------

By the time they had made their way downtown, the mood between Korra and Asami had picked up considerably. Now far away from the stress of her father’s burial and the rebuild of Republic City, Korra and Asami were picking out any item of clothing they could find to try on.

There were only a few stores currently able to run in the city as the rest were still dealing with relocation and rebuild, but a clothes store near the park was in good enough shape and that was where they had found themselves.

“Do you think I can pull this hat off?” Korra asked as she stepped out with a very large yellow hat atop her head.

Asami winced. “Yellow isn’t really your color.”

“Ugh, tell me about it. Those airbender robes were awful.”

“I know, I tried to convince Tenzin to let me change up the colors when I made the glider suits for him but he refused to break tradition.”

Korra sighed. “Well if you ever get around to make one for me, feel free to break tradition. Water Tribe colors work just fine.”

Asami watched Korra take off the hat and move to a rack of dresses. She picked up a very short black one and eyed it unhappily.

“Are you going to try it on?” Asami asked, knowing full well Korra didn’t like the dress. Still, she’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to see her in it.

“Really? This little thing? Tenzin would have a fit if I showed up wearing this.” Korra flipped it over. “Besides I think it would tear in half if I accidentally flexed my back at all…or my shoulders.” Korra held it against herself to check. “Or my butt.”

Heat rose into Asami’s cheeks. “Do you flex your butt often?”

Korra shrugged. “Only when I’m trying to impress someone.” She then frowned. “Or when I’m in a fight and about to get knocked on it.”

"You shouldn't do that; you know?”

“What?”

“Flex your butt when you fall on it. You need to keep your muscles loose, soften the landing and lower you chance of getting hurt.”

Korra frowned a bit, peeking over her back to stare at her backside. “How do you know that?”

Asami chuckled. “I took a lot of self defense classes. It’s why people who have had too much fire whiskey never seem to get hurt when they crash their Satomobiles. They’re muscles are loose.”

“Huh,” Korra still looked like she was being deceived, but Asami knew Korra trusted her word. “Well I didn’t know that. I guess I’ll stop flexing when I go down.”

“I’m not planning on letting you ‘go down’ anytime soon. If I have it my way, you won’t have anymore fights for a long time.”

Suddenly Korra’s gaze was on her. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” Asami said matter-of-factly. “I know you’re the Avatar but I’m tired of watching you get hurt.” Taking a step towards her, Asami reached out and took the dress from Korra’s hand. “You don’t have to try this on. Pick something you like and we’ll see how it fits.”

Korra swallowed thickly as Asami put the dress back on the rack. “Wh—what about you? You haven’t tried anything on.”

“Sure I did, I tried on that big jacket with all the feathers and tassels.” Asami said, causing Korra to laugh.

“That doesn’t count! I meant seriously tried anything on. Like something you might wear to the wedding.”

Asami raised an eyebrow at Korra and grinned. “Don’t you worry about that; I already have something planned to wear to the wedding.”

“Oh?” Korra’s eyes went wide. “Looking to make an impression on someone.”

“Maybe.” A silent tension fell over them for only a moment before Asami decided to push right through it. “Now, anything at all you like.”

It took her longer than Asami expected but Korra finally found a dress, blue of course, and seemed to settle on it before taking it off the hook. She laid it out carefully across a chair in the corner of the room and before Asami could register what was happening, Korra had pulled her top off.

Asami’s mouth went completely dry at the site of Korra’s bare back. It was more glorious than she could have imagined. Asami was no fool, she knew that Korra was built incredibly well, she’d seen those muscles ripple under her clothes—hell she’d _dreamed_ about them before. Yet, to see them right in front of her, within her reach, was more than she could take.

“Korra,” Asami’s voice was high pitched and she hated it.

“Oh gosh,” Korra quickly picked up the dress and covered herself with it. “I’m sorry, I—I didn’t even think. I’m sorry.”

Forcing herself to look away, Asami turned and walked to the nearest wall and pressed her forehead against it. “It’s okay, we’re here to try on clothes. You just surprised me.”

“No, I don’t know why I did that.”

“Well it’s not like you have anything to be ashamed of. You have a wonderful—“ Asami stopped mid-sentence as she realized what she was saying. “Uh…confidence, which is a great trait to have. You’re very attractive. **_It_** _!_ ” Asami cringed. “ _It_ is very attractive. Confidence that is—is very attractive and you…have… _it_.”

Asami was fairly certain she had just ruined everything—her entire friendship with Korra because those damn back muscles had short circuited her brain. Silence fell over the changing room as Asami pressed her head against the wall and waited for Korra to say something, anything. However, more and more time passed in silence and just when Asami was ready to speak again, Korra finally called to her.

“Asami? You can turn around.”

When she did, Asami was met with the sight of Korra in a beautiful blue dress. It was so different to see Korra in a dress, but she wore them gracefully and seemed quite happy with her selection.

“You’re so beautiful, Korra.”

It was Korra’s turn to blush. She dipped her head down as a smile broke across her face. “It fits pretty good.”

“That dress was made for you,” Asami said as the breathlessness of her voice betrayed her. “Take it off.”

“Wh—what?”

_You either have to kiss her or get away from her, Asami because you are embarrassing yourself right now_.

“I mean…so we can buy it.” Asami smiled tightly before quickly turning and leaving the dressing room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the crazy support for this mess of stuff I'm writing. Honestly the hardest part about it has been keeping these two from making out with each other through all the tension because I don't want it to happen prematurely. 
> 
> It may be affecting the quality a bit because I can't do the things with them I want to lol. but it's fun and I hope not terrible?


	5. Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra's realizes how deep her affections run, and how much trouble she is really in.

Korra was well aware of how she must have looked. She could only imagine what everyone was thinking—but she couldn’t help herself. Every single person she loved was gathered in Tenzin’s kitchen eating and having lively conversation, except for her.

Instead, she was waiting outside for Asami to show up. She was late, but with work piling up so much Korra wasn’t surprised. Still, the nagging voice in her head told her that if Asami didn’t show up in the next five minutes, Korra was going to have to leave and make sure she was okay.

It was uncharted territory, these feelings that she had for Asami. They were deep and intimate, more so than she’d had for Mako or anyone. Korra spent nights laying in bed thinking about Asami’s face and the way her voice sounded. She would be stricken with images of Asami at the most random moments and suddenly all she could think about was her best friend.

The first time Korra thought she wanted to kiss Asami was in the desert years ago. Now, it was much more than that. Korra wanted to share a bed with her, share every great moment in her life with her. Korra wanted to be loved by her.

Along with a series of inappropriate wants that made her flush profusely.

So despite her parents being in town and so many of her extended family all gathered in one room chatting and laughing together—it felt empty for Korra without Asami there.

The tension in her stomach released when she saw the fancy Future Industries speedboat pull into the dock. She started running towards it as soon as Asami parked and by the time she was stepping out of the boat Korra was there to offer her hand.

“It’s not a very big step, you know? I think I can handle it.”

Korra shrugged. “This is more for me than it is for you. I was waiting for you.” Asami laughed. “Don’t worry, I warned everyone to save you some food or they would feel the wrath of the Avatar.”

“My hero.” Asami said and Korra puffed her chest out a bit.

A moment passed between them before they both moved almost in unison to embrace one another. It was nothing more than a hug, but Korra wasn’t sure why she needed it so much. It had only been a day since she and Asami had seen each other.

Asami’s arms wrapped around her and Korra sunk into them. What made it even better was that Asami seemed just as desperate for it as she was.

When they finally pulled apart, Korra had to force herself to take her hands away. “Been busy?”

“Yeah,” they both started walking slowly along the dock together. “We’re helping with resources of the new hospital and offering up our equipment to the contractors. They want my help designing it and I’m trying to see what I can do. It’s a big project.” Asami sighed tiredly. “They’re all big projects.”

“Don’t overwhelm yourself, okay? You work all the time.”

Asami bumped her shoulder. “You’re one to talk. How many meetings did you have today?”

“Ugh, like seven. Raiko keeps setting me up to go to every single meeting with him too. I know he’s just using me to support his campaign for reelection when the city gets back together but it’s exhausting.”

“You are the Avatar, Korra. You don’t need Raiko to meet with world leaders.”

Korra groaned and slowed her steps down a bit, she needed to talk about this stuff but Asami was the only one she wanted to tell. “I know, but we need peace now more than ever, you know? It won’t be good for anyone if Raiko and I are fighting when we have to try and bring everyone back together. So if I have to let him use me for a while to get things done, I suppose I can handle that.” Asami gave her an understanding nod and Korra found comfort in it. “Unless you want to run against him for president. In which case I will drop him like bad romance novel.”

The laugh that escaped Asami was like music. Korra wanted to capture the sound and have it on demand whenever she needed to feel better.

“I would be a horrible president, Korra.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“I am far too influenced by you. They let me build a statue for you in the park and I made it three times bigger than they wanted. If I were president the city would be Korra City because you have earned that and so much more.”

Korra decided to play along, even as her heart sang. “Korra City, I could get on board with that.”

“We could even build you another statue.”

“Oh one of Naga! No, one of me as the giant blue spirit Korra!”

Asami smirked. “What about giant blue spirit Korra riding giant blue spirit Naga?”

Korra gasped. “See! This is why I love you!” Her bright eyes and happy words turned sour as she realized what she’d just blurted out loud to her best friend. It was meant as nothing more than a playful decree but Asami’s face turned beat red and she suddenly looked down at the ground shyly.

“I uh…I mean…I think—“

“Are you two coming inside at any point tonight?” They both turned to see Senna standing in the doorway. “Your father is a strong man, Korra but even he is going to lose the fight of keeping Bolin and Mako out of the food long enough for the two of you to get a plateful.”

“Okay,” Korra said, glancing back to see that Asami was smiling at her mother. “Hungry.”

“I’m starving.” Asami said and as if nothing had happened she put a hand on Korra’s shoulder and guided them inside.

\-------------------------

With the life she’d had, Korra understood how important it was to appreciate the quiet moments—as few and far between as those were.

Long after everyone had filed out after the spirited dinner with friends and family, the dining room table had dwindled to only a few people. Korra, Asami, her parents and Tenzin. Pema had left to put the kids to bed, Mako and Bolin left with Opal and everyone else had turned in for the night.

Including Asami, who was fast asleep in her spot next to Korra.

Sipping her tea and half listening to the conversation between Tenzin and her father about politics was background to this peaceful evening. There were no pressing matters—tomorrow was Varrick and Zhu Li’s wedding and she had the day off from her duty to the city.

So Korra was taking every advantage of this calm, including the adorable sight of Asami curled up on a small pillow with her jacket covering her for warmth.

“Hey,” Korra called out to Tenzin and her parents talking. “I’m gonna turn in, take this one with me.”

Tenzin frowned a bit. “Should I go and set up one of the guest rooms for her?”

Korra laughed softly before rising to her feet. “Nah, I’ll handle it.” Tenzin seemed confused, even more so when Korra simply scooped Asami into her arms and cradled her. “Goodnight everyone.”

Ignoring the puzzlement from Tenzin, the knowing tone of her mother and the silly admiration from her father, Korra carried Asami out of the dining room and down the quiet hallways.

She was careful with every step she took, not wanting to disturb Asami who was clearly working too hard and not sleeping enough. Once she reached her bedroom door, Korra reached out with the hand holding up Asami’s legs and opened it. She kicked it gently with her foot and stepped inside, mustering up a bit of air to blow it shut before stepping over to the bed and lying Asami down.

Korra sat on the bed beside her and used a finger to push a stray piece of hair from Asami’s face. When her fingers grazed over Asami’s delicate skin, Korra felt a familiar pressure in her chest.

Standing up, Korra readied herself for bed. Kicking off her shoes and stepping into her closet to change into her sweats and at tank top. She was tired too, but mostly she just wanted this day to end so she could wake up tomorrow and spend the entire day preparing for the wedding with Asami. They had agreed to go together and even though it wasn’t a real date or anything, Korra couldn’t remember looking forward to anything more.

When she finally was ready, Korra brought a blanket with her and climbed into bed next to Asami. She covered the both of them up and laid down as carefully as she could. Nevertheless, when she turned to face Asami she was met with a pair of green eyes watching her.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you. I tried to be quiet.” Korra apologized wholeheartedly but Asami only shook her head in response. “Are you…is this okay? Me sleeping here? I should have asked I just—“

“It’s okay, Korra.” Asami said. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I should have said goodnight to your parents. Thanked them for the meal. It was rude.”

Korra smiled. “It wasn’t rude. They understand that you’ve been working really hard. Besides you won my dad over with all your talk of high powered snowmobiles and Sato-kittens or…whatever it was.”

“Sato Snow Cats.” Asami corrected with a roll of her eyes. “Big, powerful machines that can move snow and cover any terrain. I’ve been thinking about them for a while. They wouldn’t do much good here, but in the woods during winter and with the Tribe.”

“Well, either way, my dad was certainly smitten with you. He told me to tell you to be ready to dance tomorrow night. My dad loves to dance.”

“Oh?” Asami quirked a brow. “Is that a trait that runs in the family? Because I expect my date to dance with me.”

Korra grimaced a big. “Well, I mean…I’m not very good at it.”

“Yeah right.”

“I’m not!”

Asami waved her off. “I have seen you move, Korra. Your agility and gracefulness is built for dancing. Honestly, you dance when you fight, this time you just don’t have to hit anyone in the face or throw rocks at them.”

“Unless Wu tries to dance with me.” She reveled in Asami’s smile. “Then he’s getting a rock right between the eyes.”

“Or my fist.” Asami said with a playful defensiveness.

“Is that right?”

Asami nodded through a yawn. “Yes, you’re my date and I won’t tolerate Wu making any moves.”

“My hero.” As the comfort of the bed and the closeness of Asami seemed to dull her senses, Korra reached out under the blankets and laid her hand over Asami’s hip. When her eyes opened a bit wider at the contact, Korra lifted her hand just a bit. “Too much?”

A breath passed between them before Asami placed her hand over Korra’s and held it up “No, you’re okay. Let’s try this though.” Korra watched Asami shift in front of her and soon enough Asami was facing the wall and her back was to Korra. Then Asami took Korra’s hand and laid it across her waist. With their bodies pressed close, Korra had never felt more comfortable.  “How’s that?”

Closing her eyes, Korra laced their fingers together. “Better.”

“Good,” Asami let out a long breath. “Goodnight, Korra.”

“Night.”


	6. Make Your Move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami can't contain how she feels anymore. She needs to make a move, she just doesn't know how to do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, the support for this is just...amazing. I am so appreciative and hope you all enjoy this chapter as well. It was a fun one to write.  
> No beta, so forgive any mistakes pls :)

_BANG_!

“Will you be careful! You’re going to break it before we even get all the lights strung!”

Asami grimaced at the voices pouring in through the window as she was unceremoniously woken. It took her a second to register where she was when her eyes opened. She’d stayed on Air Temple Island many times but the room she usually stayed in was different, a bit smaller and the bed didn’t face the window from this direction.

Suddenly something pressed against her stomach and Asami remembered that Korra was holding her.

“Oh,” she whispered to herself with a smile. Any concern about her surroundings evaporated. She was fine, she was with Korra.

There was a gentle brush of air against the back of her neck as Korra breathed heavily in her sleep.

Carefully, Asami turned over to face her bed partner and was met with Korra lying deeply into her pillow, hair in her face and mouth open.

Asami smiled at how heavily she slept. Like everything Korra did, she even attacked sleep with all her might. Her eyes danced over Korra’s skin and soaked in her beauty. She’d known Korra for a while now, but something about this was different. They were so close, so intimate and Asami could _really_ see her, every bit of her, and it only made the fall harder.

It felt silly to call Korra perfect, nobody was perfect and Korra would be the first to admit that--but after all their time together, Asami wouldn’t change a thing about her. As her hand trailed up Korra’s side, she reached her bicep and traced her thumb over it.

_Nope, not a single thing._

For all her thoughts and praise of Korra’s heart and personality, she would be lying if she said Korra’s body wasn’t…enticing. It was _beyond_ enticing—the star performer in many of Asami’s late night fantasies.

The silence of the morning (except for all the noise outside) gave Asami a strange confidence to let her touches linger a little longer and tease Korra’s skin a little more hungrily. When she dared to reach up and palm the juncture of Korra’s neck, the Avatar shivered at the contact and Asami felt her stomach flutter.

“That tickles.” Korra’s voice surprised Asami, but she didn’t move away when those blue eyes found her from the other pillow. “Your hands are warm.”

Asami sighed at Korra’s tired smile. “You kept me pretty warm.” When Korra shifted, her hair fell back behind her ear and Asami saw the faint mark of a scar across her cheek. It was so light that it could only been seen as close as they were. Absentmindedly, she reached out and traced her thumb over the scar. Korra’s eyes closed at the contact but she didn’t protest.  “Where did you get this?” She asked, still stroking her thumb over Korra’s skin.

“Fighting in the Spirit World with Vaatu. Scraped across a rock, thought I lost a tooth.”

A familiar feeling of protectiveness washed over Asami at the thought of Korra being hurt. She knew what Korra had been through, and being upset about a years old fight was pointless, but that didn’t make the discomfort go away.

When Asami first discovered her feelings for Korra, she did what she had done with everything in her life—she analyzed everything. Including the fact that being with Korra would be scary because of who Korra was, what she had been through and would go through in her future. It was a hard life, one that had taken Aang from Katara sooner than expected, along with many of the Avatar’s that had come before.

However, it was moments like this, nights like last night and every time she looked into Korra’s eyes that Asami realized she could never stay away.

_All you have to do is make a move._

Sitting up on her elbow just a bit, Asami leaned in and placed her lips against the scar on Korra’s cheek. She could feel Korra tense at the contact and for a moment she expected Korra to pull away. Instead, she was greeted with the feeling of Korra’s free hand pressing into her back.

Asami’s lips lingered against her for a few long moments before she pulled away. They were barely an inch apart and Asami wasn’t sure what her next move would be. She wanted to kiss Korra’s lips, but they had said so little and their relationship was teetering into so much unfamiliar territory that making a wrong move might be catastrophic.

She swallowed the thick lump in her throat and slowly retreated back to her pillow. Korra was still watching her, a question in her eyes.

“What was—“

_Knock, knock, knock!_

“This is Commander Meelo! I have been sent to get you both for wedding ceremony construction duty. Dad says we need your strength, Korra—and your keen eye for design, Asami! So your sleepover is finished! There’s work to be done!”

With a sigh, Asami smiled and rolled onto her back. Korra started laughing.

“You know, if you use your keen eye for design to build a small box to put Meelo in, I’ll use my strength to carry him to the tallest mountain and leave him there.”

Asami swatted her arm. “You’re such talk, like you could leave him for more than ten minutes.”

“Hey,” Korra sat up and Asami was greeted with the sight of Korra in a tank top—all shoulders and back muscles and— _ugh_. “You’d be surprised what I’d be willing to do for you.”

Despite the hammering in her chest, Asami knew when someone was flirting with her. She had to give it back, show that she was willing to play. So she rolled out of bed, pushing her hair back over her shoulder and giving Korra a wink. “You’ll have to show me sometime. I’m going to freshen up.”

Leaving Korra wide eyed and speechless was an excellent way to start her day.

\---------------------

Asami couldn’t contain her laughter—this was not a side of Korra’s father she expected to see. He really did love to dance, and the more upbeat the song was, the happier he was. He had asked Asami to dance and she gladly obliged, expecting a few pleasant words, a moment or two of swaying on the dance floor and a kind thank you.

However, Tonraq had picked an up tempo song from the band to draw her out and now he was spinning and bouncing all over the dance floor with her.

When he’d asked to dance, she should have heeded Senna’s advice to pass, because he was as wild as Korra.

It made sense in a way, everyone was having so much fun because they were finally able too. The world was calm, for now. His daughter was home and she seemed relatively at peace. It was finally a moment for all of them to relax and let loose.

They weren’t the only ones having fun, though. The dance floor was littered with people letting it all out. Bolin and Opal were a few steps away, right next to Kai and Jinora who were dancing with Meelo. Even Mako was moving a little in his spot off to the side.

The only person Asami didn’t see dancing was Korra. She was there, but just sitting at one of the tables watching. She seemed so relaxed and so happy to be surrounded by everyone, it warmed Asami’s heart. To know what Korra had been through, how long she’d been gone and suffering alone, to be with those she loved now meant the world to her.

Suddenly, Tonraq scooped her into the air by her sides and spun her around. When Asami’s feet hit the floor again the song slowed down and he let out a hearty chuckle.

“You are a good sport, Ms. Sato.”

Asami took a few deep breaths to try and calm her hammering heart. “You certainly know how dance, sir.”

Tonraq smirked. “Well with a woman like Senna I had to have a few tricks up my sleeve. Dancing and cooking, the keys to a Water Tribe woman’s heart.” He gave her a bit of a knowing look and Asami bit her lip.

“Is that so?”

She watched his gaze shift slightly to the table Korra was sitting at before he looked back at her. “It’s easier when you have their heart already. Thank you for the dance, Asami. I’ll leave you to find a new partner for the next one.”

When he patted her shoulder and walked away, Asami took another deep breath and soaked in the slow song playing over the speakers.

_If you’re going to make your move, tonight is the perfect night. Be bold, Sato._

Nodding once to herself, Asami sauntered over to Korra’s table and tilted her head when their eyes met.

“Having a good time?”

Korra smiled. “I am.”

“Good,” Asami extended her hand out. “Dance with me?”

“I’m not as good as my dad,” Korra said with a bit of hesitation.

Asami would not be deterred. “Good thing this is a slow song then, huh?”

When Korra finally took Asami’s hand, she pulled her up and led her to the dance floor. A few curious eyes landed on them, probably because this was Korra’s first step onto the floor all night—not that Asami cared who was watching.

Korra seemed a bit timid as Asami took her hand and laced their fingers together. “Who knew Tahno could play music so well.” Korra said, looking away for a moment.

“Hey,” Asami called, reaching up to turn Korra’s head back to her by the chin. “Forget about Tahno. Follow my lead, okay?”

Swallowing thickly, Korra nodded and placed her hand on Asami’s shoulder. In kind, Asami draped her hand over Korra’s hip and felt the Avatar tense under her touch. It was cute to see Korra so nervous, considering they’d been so wrapped up in each other this morning. Perhaps it was the eyes all around them, Asami wasn’t sure—she could ask later.

After a few moments of gentle swaying, Korra seemed to relax as the rest of the dance floor filled up and people enjoyed the person in front of them.

Unable to restrain herself, Asami took a step closer to Korra and laid her head on one of her partner’s broad shoulders. She expected Korra to tense again—instead Korra moved to hook her arm under Asami’s shoulder and hold her close.

“See,” Asami started. “You’re not so bad at this.”

Korra laughed breathlessly. “We’re just swaying back and forth.”

“Sometimes that’s all you need.”

As the song continued on, Asami could feel Korra’s hand across her back and the way her fingers were stroking her.

It was such a magical feeling—the fluttering in her stomach and unsteadiness of her legs were both unsettling and amazing. She had never felt this way before. She had never felt so connected with another person.

Every tragedy in her life seemed worth it for leading her to this moment. Losing her mother, fighting with her father, struggling through her relationship with Mako—they all guided her to Korra.

Their locked hands fell away when Asami needed more, she wrapped both her arms around Korra’s waist and embraced her.

For a moment Korra didn’t know what to do and locked up. Asami pulled her head back, their faces inches apart, and smiled.

“Put your arms around my neck.”

Again Korra nodded and followed the instructions. One song ended and another started up but Asami scarcely noticed—she was too busy looking into Korra’s eyes. Having a silent conversation with her as they had done so many times before.

When the next song ended and everyone started to clap, Korra fell from the trance and carefully removed her hands from around Asami’s neck. The loss of contact was awful and Asami wanted to drag Korra away from this party and release all of these feelings and emotions she was having.

“That was…nice.” Korra said.

Asami noticed the tenseness in her voice and it made her ache. “Are you okay?”

The concern in Asami’s voice did not go unnoticed. “Oh, yeah I am. I’m sorry. It was a really wonderful dance I’m just…I have a lot going on in my head. It’s not you, I promise. I just…I think I need some air.”

“Okay, do you want to go to the dock?”

Korra shook her head. “No, I’m just going to check on Naga really quick. I’ll be back.” Asami’s frown must have been evident because Korra took her hands and squeezed them. “It wasn’t you, I’m just…reflective is all. I need to get out of my own head.”

It was selfish to think that any of Korra’s angst would be about her. Korra had dealt with so much more than Asami could ever understand. “If you need me for anything.”

“If I’m not back in five minutes, come find me.”

With a nod, Asami let Korra’s hands go and watched her leave to find a bit of quiet.

She tracked Korra’s path away from the party and watched her settle by the steps and stand staring off at the spirit portal she’d made days earlier.

 _Portal she’d made_. Asami smiled—the woman she loved shaped the world so much. It was both incredible and intimidating.

“She’s a big girl, you know?” Asami jumped at the voice behind her and turned to see Lin standing behind her with a plate of food and a smirk. “I can’t say I blame her for wanting to get away for a while though. Are these things always so…loud?”

“Parties?” She asked and earned a glare “When they’re for Varrick, absolutely. I keep waiting for some kind of fireworks show or aircraft flyover.”

“The night is young. Heard that rich nut talking about taking a glider suit off the roof. Zhu Li shut him down quicker than a waterbender in the desert.” Lin nodded a bit. “I kind of like her.”

Asami smiled. “She’s certainly brave, being willing to spend the rest of her life with him.”

“We can’t always explain who we fall in love with. Hell, I loved Tenzin once. Can’t explain who we fall in love with and can’t explain the stupid decisions we make when we’re young.” Despite Lin’s cutting words, Asami could tell it was a cover. Lin didn’t regret her relationship with Tenzin—she knew Lin still cared about him and was thankful to be a part of his life.

If anything, it brought Lin closer to Kya who she had been hanging around with the entire night.

“I never saw my life turning out like this.”

“How so?” Lin asked and Asami looked to Korra again.

“I just…thought I would go to school, learn about business from my dad and work for him at Future Industries for the rest of my life. I didn’t…plan for saving the world or doing so many dangerous things or—“

“Falling in love with the Avatar?” Asami’s head snapped up to Lin who rolled her eyes. “I _am_ a detective, Sato. Besides, you’re not exactly keeping a secret with the way the two of you were fondling each other on the dance floor.” With a pout, Asami lowered her head and hugged herself. “She know how you feel?”

“I don’t think so. We’ve been really close lately but I haven’t actually… _said_ anything.”

Lin was silent for a bit and Asami watched as Tenzin approached Korra in the distance. She was saddened that her moment away from the party to be with Korra had been lost. Tenzin seemed to have a way of ruining those sorts of things for her.

“I still remember the day your mother died.”

Asami tensed and turned to glare at Lin. “Is that really—“

“I had just seen her the day before. She’d come to the station to donate the new Satmobiles to the force. Your dad couldn’t come because he was working on the transport vehicles. Your mother was so vibrant and engaging, one of my favorite people in this city and I was in a bad mood that day and didn’t speak with her—but I told myself I would the next time I saw her. Personally thank her for the new Satomobiles and for all your family had done for the force.”

The hard stare Asami was giving to Lin faded into nothing more than familiar hurt and numb memories. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you can’t take the risk of waiting for your next moment. You have to tell people how you feel. Especially when it’s people you care about.” Lin gave Asami one of the warmest smiles Asami had seen from her. “Korra’s life has been hard, it will probably be that way forever. Something tells me she’s going to need you…just about as much as I can tell you need her.” Lin patted her on the shoulder. “Now quit sulking and go, tell her. I have to get more of these dumplings before Bolin eats them all and I have to kill him.”

With her heart full, Asami nodded as Lin left and took a few deep breaths.

_You can do this, Asami. It’s just Korra. It’s Korra. You trust her with your life. Trust her with your heart too._

Hands at her side, Asami walked towards Korra and Tenzin who seemed deep in conversation. A part of her thought it might be wrong to interrupt, but she didn’t want to wait anymore. She had to do something, she just needed to remove Tenzin.

 _I could push him into the lake._ Asami thought and immediately dismissed. Though it would be funny, it would probably prompt Varrick to have everyone take a ‘celebratory swim’.

 _Varrick_. _Oh…_

“Excuse me, Tenzin.”


	7. Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra looks back before taking a giant leap forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is just too much fun. Thank you again for all the support, it means the world <3

“Hey Mako.”

Korra had been following him for a while now, waiting for a moment to catch him alone. After deciding to vacation to the Spirit World with Asami, just the two of them, Korra felt like she needed to say something to Mako. She wasn’t sure why, their relationship had ended so long ago. They were finally in a good place, as friends, but she couldn’t shake the need for him to know first.

“Hey, I’ve been looking for you. Wu is driving me crazy. He wants to dance with you.”

Korra cringed. “Uh.”

“I told him you didn’t dance and that if you tried you would step on and probably break his toes.”

“Well you’re not wrong.” She smiled as he did and glanced around to see how isolated they were. “Can I talk to you?” Her voice was soft and hesitant. She could see the worry lines crease in his forehead.

“Sure, what’s up? Is everything okay?”

Closing her eyes, Korra found courage in thoughts of  Asami. She could do this, tell him and the world because Asami was waiting for her. So much was still undefined, but Korra knew she and Asami’s vacation had romantic potential, she might even have the chance to kiss her. The possibility alone made her stomach flutter. “I…” However, when she opened her eyes and saw Mako staring down at her with concern, the words seemed heavier.

_Do this, don’t let it hang over you. You can’t let it hang over your time with her._

“Korra, what’s wrong?”

Taking a deep breath, she leaped. “I’m in love with Asami.” She studied his reaction, unsure of how she’d expected him to react. In a way, Korra thought he might already know. She had felt far from subtle in the way she looked at her best friend the last few days, weeks, years.

Yet as it sunk in, she could see the confusion in his eyes. “You’re…what? Asami? Did Bolin tell you to say that?”

“Mako.” Korra frowned.

“You’re serious?” He asked and she nodded. “Wow—I had no idea. I didn’t know you even—“ Mako swallowed thickly and crossed his good arm over his chest. “Have you told her? Does she feel the same way?”

Korra sighed. “I haven’t said those words exactly but…we’ve been spending a lot of time together and I talked to her tonight and we’ve decided take a trip. Just the two of us and see if we can sort it out.”

“So there’s actually something there?” He asked though not really to her, just thinking out loud.

Still, Korra answered. “There’s definitely something there, Mako. I think about her all the time. When I wake up, when I train, when I sleep. If she’s not near me, she’s in my head.”

“Wow, so…you’re in really deep.” He blurted out and Korra chuckled.

“I did say I loved her.”

“Wow.”

“You keep saying that.”

Mako huffed. “I keep meaning it.” She saw him studying her, a question lingering. “Are you…asking for my…blessing?”

Korra smiled. “No, Mako. You know me better than that.” She was happy to see him grin a little. “I just thought you deserved to know. Everything we’ve been through, all three of us. I didn’t want you to hear it from someone else.”

“Korra,” Mako placed a hand on her shoulder. “I love you, I said it years ago and I mean it now but like all of us, it’s kinda changed. I still love you, I’d still do anything for you—but I let go of my feelings for you a long time ago. We’re so much better like this, you know?” Korra nodded as her heart swelled. “We work together; we support each other—we don’t fight.”

“As much.” Korra corrected and Mako chuckled.

“As much.” He squeezed her shoulder. “I care about you and I remember the way Asami took care of you after everything that happened with the Red Lotus. I admit…I was surprised at how persistent and attentive she was—maybe I wasn’t paying attention. If she makes you happy…if you two make each other happy. Then I’m happy.”

Tears stung in Korra’s eyes as Mako’s words sank in. She fought them off but one slipped out and she hastily brushed it away. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for telling me. Where are you two going?”

“Spirit World.” Korra said with a sniffle.

Mako cringed. “Uh…I don’t have many fond, romantic memories of our time in the Spirit World.”

“That’s because my uncle was trying to kill us.”

“True, plus Bolin was there.”

Korra laughed. “Yeah he’s not invited this time. Neither are my cousins.”

“That’s good, they’re mood killers.” Mako tilted his head and continued to stare at her. “So when did you know?”

Korra shrugged. “Not sure really. Sometimes it feels like the I found out a week ago. Other times it feels like I’ve known for years. She’s special, you know?”

“I do now,” Mako nodded. “I didn’t when I should have.” Korra didn’t argue, Mako’s relationship with Asami wasn’t her business. “You know Bolin is going to flip out right? He’ll want to tell everyone, put up an article in the paper.” Mako rubbed his temple. “He’s going to want to make banners.”

“Banners?”

“Yeah,” He groaned. “When you and I were dating, after he got over it, he wanted to make ‘Makorra’ banners and hang them everywhere.”

“Makor—what?”

“Makorra. You know, Mako and Korra, but our names put together.”

Korra frowned. “Why is your name first?”

“Because it sounds better than Korrako.”

“Says you.”

Mako rolled his eyes. “Listen, it doesn’t matter now. You’re…Asamorra.”

Korra grimaced. “Don’t let Bolin make banners.”

“I’ll do my best.”

\-------------------

Korra worried it was too fast—to pack up and leave with no real notice seemed irresponsible. Yet, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that responsibilities could potentially keep her from doing this at all.

Yes, the city was still a mess and there was still work to be done, but if she waited too long then more and more would pile up and they might never have a chance to get their relationship off the ground.

“Relationship,” Korra muttered into the silence of her bedroom as she packed. It felt so strange to say. She wasn’t even sure if it were true yet, but the way they sat on those steps staring out at the yellow light in the sky, Korra felt something shift between them.

Still, this was new territory for Korra. Though Asami was something completely different than any relationship she’d had before, Asami was her best friend. The first person she thought of in the morning and the last face she saw before sleep. She meant the world to her and this step would change so much between them. If it didn’t work out, it could cost Korra the most valuable friend she’d ever had.

It didn’t matter—she quickly shook off those doubts. The reward outweighed the risk. The mere thought of lying in bed at night with Asami, holding her, kissing her, and… _touching_ her was too much. She had spent her whole life diving into every goal put in front of her. This was no different

“Except it’s completely different.” Korra again said out loud to no one in particular.

“What is?” She jumped at the voice behind her and turned to see Asami standing wide eyed in the doorway. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Korra put a hand over her chest. “It’s okay. Avatar senses are betraying me.”

“No,” Asami stepped in closer and laid her own backpack on the bed. “I’m very sneaky.”

Seeing Asami with her own backpack, filled with clothes for _their_ vacation was surreal. It was really happening. “Are you?” Korra managed, trying to keep up with Asami’s playful tone.

“Yep,” she sauntered closer and reached out to take the shirt in Korra’s hand from her. Korra watched, almost helplessly, as Asami dropped it on the bed. “I told Tenzin that Varrick was looking to fly off the tower in a glider suit so I could be alone with you.”

Korra’s throat went dry and her hands started to shake. Asami was _so_ close to her and it was almost overwhelming. “I—is that right?”

“Yes, I knew I had to get you alone.” Suddenly, Asami had a hold of Korra’s shaking hands and she lifted one. Korra watched as their fingers laced together, she was certain that her palms were sweating. “Hey,” Asami’s voice drew her out of the trance. “Are you okay?”

“I am, I just…I’m sorry. I’m so nervous.”

Asami frowned slightly. “It’s just me.”

Korra laughed. “Just you—Asami that’s _why_ I’m nervous. It’s you and we’re…this close and you’re holding my hand—“

“I’ve held your hand before.”

“You know what I mean.” Korra chided Asami’s coy response and she nodded. “It’s a big step.”

“The biggest.” Asami confirmed. “I promise you, I’m nervous too.”

 “Really?” Korra quirked a brow. “You don’t seem it.”

Asami grinned. “I’m used to it. Business meetings with cranky old suits when you’re barely into your twenties will toughen you up quick.”

“Funny, fighting crazy benders never prepared me for this.”

“How scared are you?” Asami asked.

“Pretty scared.”

She could see the worry in Asami’s eyes. “Too scared?”

“No,” Korra answered quickly. “No I just…I need to wrap my head around it, you know? We’ve been best friends for so long, you’re so important to me. When I was gone I just…I thought about you so much.”

“Me too.”

Korra nodded. “I don’t ever want to lose that, lose you. I know I haven’t dated much but my track record isn’t exactly great.”

Asami rolled her eyes. “Oh and mine is?” When Korra grimaced, Asami squeezed her hand. “You know it’ll be different with us, we’re best friends, like you said. Nothing between us will change, I’ll just get to hold your hand and maybe kiss you whenever I want.” Korra absentmindedly licked her lips. “Dating your best friend sounds pretty great to me.”

“You want to?”

“What?”

“K—kiss me?”

“Are you kidding?” Asami cried. “I almost did this morning. I want to every minute I’m around you and I have for far longer than I’d care to admit.”

_She wants to kiss you and you’ve wanted to kiss her for so long. Do it, Korra. You love her, you know you do. Do it!_

“Do it,” Korra said out loud and Asami’s eyes went wide.

“What?”

“Kiss me.”

Asami’s mouth fell open a bit. “Are you sure?” Korra nodded as she felt a smile form. She let go of Asami’s hand and slowly reached up to touch her face. Her fingertips traced across Asami’s cheeks, pushing a bit of hair to the side as she cupped her neck and pulled her in close.

There was no resistance and Korra slowed as they moved closer. Every nerve in her body was on fire, she could feel the world spinning around her. Asami’s eyes shut as the neared and Korra did the same just before their lips met.

It was the first time Korra had ever, truly, had her breath taken away. Asami’s lips were soft and warm, they seemed to fit perfectly with her own. It only took two seconds before Korra wondered why they hadn’t been doing this earlier.

Another few seconds passed before Asami tilted her head to the side and gave Korra room to deepen the kiss. Asami tasted of citrus and when their tongues met Korra pulled hers back suddenly in shock. When Asami smiled against her, she settled and continued onward.

When Asami’s hands made their way into her hair, Korra nearly fell over. It was the best moment of her life and she doubted anything would ever top it. After everything she had been through, all the nights she’d spent alone and the few faint moments where she’d wondered if she would be better off letting the next Avatar take her place faded away in the kiss they shared.

Katara was right, all of that was absolutely worth it.

Korra wasn’t sure what happened but at some point the kiss broke and Asami’s arms were around her.

“See, that wasn’t so bad.”

She chuckled breathlessly. “That was…” Korra couldn’t find the right word to describe it. “Do we have to go anywhere? We could just stay in this room and do…that.”

Asami pressed her kiss into her hair before pulling back and shaking her head. “As wonderful as that sounds, I still want you to show me around the Spirit World. We can do plenty of kissing in there.” Her expression went thoughtful. “Assuming…that’s okay? It’s not like…frowned upon by the spirits right?”

Reaching out, Korra traced a bit of smudged lipstick from Asami’s mouth. “Doesn’t matter—I’m the Avatar, they’ll just have to deal with it.”


End file.
